Although the lights stayed on in most of the house–it was noon, after all–Gregory's room was dark as could be, especially with the cloth they'd taped to the bottom of the door to keep the blazing hall lights from creeping in. The boy lay curled up in his bed, soft whimpering escaping his little body. Five long, blue-tipped, plastic fingers ran over his head. The heat sensors sent signals back to the animatronic kneeling by the head of the boy's bed. The boy's fever had gone up a little, but he was not warm enough to need a cold compress on his head.

The door's knob clicked.

Within half a breath, Moon was by the door, not quite in the way enough to bar it from opening, but close enough to confront whoever dared bring the light and noise of the hallway into the once dark and silent room.

Vanessa stared back, unperturbed, clutching a small bag in her hands.

"He's asleep," Moon whispered, cocking his head a little. "Why are you here?"

Vanessa, meeting his gaze and glimmering baby blue lights of his pupils, held up her small bag. Crackers, a reusable water bottle, and small box of medicine snuggled within. "It's time for his medicine. I think he should eat, too."

"It has been five hours and thirty-eight minutes since his last dose of medicine. He should not take another for another twenty-two minutes."

"It'll take twenty-two minutes to get him to take it," she pointed out. "Besides, some flu medicine a little early won't hurt."

"He's still asleep."

"He's been asleep half the day."

"Not quite," Moon stated. "He's been fidgety and vomited again almost an hour ago." He cast a glance back at the boy, who twitched and whimpered in broken dreams.

Vanessa tipped her head to the side to look at him. She let out a small sigh and held out the bag. "Then you give it to him. Tell me when he wakes up. I want to check on him, too."

"I can do that," Moon stated, albeit a little too quickly.

…

"I know you can," Vanessa went on, her voice slow and words carefully chosen. "I trust you, I do. But I need to check on him, too. I need to tell the doctor and the school about his condition. Considering they don't know you're here…"

Moon didn't immediately answer.

Sun chipped in, "He's been sick for two days, Moony. She's scared, too."

I'm not scared.

"I know, but she is and I am. Please?"

Moon nodded. "I will tell you when he wakes up."

Vanessa nodded. "Thank you. Freddy wants to see him, too, but he was afraid he would be too noisy in case he was asleep."

"You two can visit him at the same time."

"Alright. Keep him safe. Alert me if anything changes–good or bad. Especially bad. Understand?" Vanessa's tone hardened into an authority he had barely seen the last few months.

Moon had no choice than to give her an obedient response.

With that, she backed off and walked down the hall again.

Moon quietly shut the door and returned to his place. He again tried his best to calm the boy down without waking him. The last time he'd woken up he'd gotten sick. Even after he'd emptied his stomach, he'd been dry heaving and coughing until tears welled in his eyes. He exhausted himself and fell asleep again–this time into a deeper sleep.

"He'll be okay, right?"

Yes.

"Maybe after he takes his medicine, he'll become more active again!"

And shoot you with a laser.

"Hehe, uh, yeah."

Gregory hadn't taken being sick lightly. He complained about being fine when he developed a cough. But when his symptoms worsened and he was bedridden, he grumbled about being locked in his room so much. The boy… was not good at being sick. He couldn't keep most foods down and got a stomachache if he ate anything too sweet or fatty. So, he refused to eat anything but crackers and bread. He learned his lesson with candy. He wasn't fond of how much water he was supposed to be drinking, especially how cold it was and how much colder it felt as warm as he was. It was near impossible to convince him to take flu medication, though he eventually would if bribed well enough. He refused to listen to firm directions or even an outright order from his frazzled female caretaker, even if he had been considering doing said action already. The worst part was not cleaning up the mess he made and sometimes needing to change out the sheets, nor was it him needing to be isolated to keep from getting Vanessa sick. It was the boredom.

Gregory was bored.

He was an active kid, and a clever one with an active mind. Watching cartoons on a tablet and playing games were only entertaining for so long. Eventually, he somehow managed to get his Fazerblaster. The unfortunate side effect of his lethargy was that it was often impossible to tell if he was asleep or faking, even for Moon. For whatever reason he had, he liked shooting people. Vanessa learned to wear sunglasses around him. The daycare attendant was naturally immune to the light-caused reset, and Monty wore glasses. Freddy was too pitiful to feel angry toward him, and Chica kept Roxy from snapping. But when the laser gun ran out of battery, they suddenly all became amnesiacs, unable to remember what batteries were much less how to change them in the Fazerblaster.

Then there was Gregory's reaction to Moon. As the lights were out often to allow him to sleep, and Sun was less than good with sleeping children, Moon took over. Vanessa couldn't afford to get sick, and the virus could cling to anything–including plastic surfaces. So, one animatronic was elected to stay by him constantly while the others would not risk spreading the virus any more easily.

That didn't mean Gregory trusted Moon.

Moon still wasn't as loved as Sun. To be fair, it had only been a few months. He was used to that, though; kids tended to like being awake and playing with Sun more than having to take a nap. Especially considering how Moon had acted around the time Gregory arrived. Vanessa took full responsibility for the things Moon did or tried to do, and Gregory even took Moon's side in a turn around way. "All of you except Freddy and Sun also tried to get me!" Gregory had pointed out. They had not been outright saying anything, but Monty hadn't been very shy about not wanting to play a game in the dark and Sun tried to make a sheepish escape from their household game. The silence had been thick and awkward enough to prompt a change in subject. Yes, Gregory was going to play as Waluigi. When Sun tried to thank Gregory, the boy shrugged it off. Still, he stayed away from the daycare attendant at night.

Again, Moon wasn't that effected by that at all. He was used to being less popular. Sun's lingering emotional instability and subsequent sensitivity to any negativity directed toward either of them was what got to Moon. He was also not used to being in control of their body or speaking aloud for so long. The inverse happened with Sun, causing him to become more fidgety.

Gregory stopped whimpering and relaxed again.

Moon pulled his hand back. Another eighteen minutes would need to pass before Gregory could take his next dose of medicine. Vanessa was right, of course; he should be prompted on taking the medication early as it would take some time to convince him to take it.

"It just makes me sleepy. I'm tired of sleeping," Gregory puffed the last time he was stubbornly refusing the flu medicine. He eventually took it, just as long as they got to do something afterward. The something turned out to be checkers, which Gregory played with Sun. Sun struggled to intentionally lose given Gregory's suppressed cognitive functioning. But the boy felt much happier after winning.

Nine minutes. He should wake up Gregory soon.

Moon paced the room. However, it was immaculate. Everything was organized, all the surfaces wiped clean, and dust removed. Clothes were folded or hung and put away, as were the extra sheets and blankets. The room had been a mess before Gregory got seriously ill. Although Vanessa and Freddy harped on him about cleaning it, the boy barely ever did anything to put a dent in the mess. Which, Moon should side with Vanessa and Freddy, and the daycare attendant normally did. But cleaning had always been a way to calm them both down, a way to pass time and battle boredom, and a way to organize their own thoughts. So, in a way, they had both been happy to have something to do and distract them. Sun vacuumed, but only while Gregory was in the bathroom.

Freddy said nothing, but Vanessa gave them a half-hearted scolding about doing Gregory's chores for him. Still, she must have understood their boredom stemming from confinement and didn't linger on the subject.

Moon pulled out the homework Gregory brought home before his cough started. It was mostly done. The new homework Vanessa fetched from the school stacked neatly atop it. He put it away again and finally decided to stand beside the door.

Five minutes.

Moon reluctantly turned the lights on to half power and approached Gregory. The boy flinched and snuggled deeper in his blankets. But, when roused by Moon's pat on his shoulder and words, Gregory didn't defy him for long. He yawned and stared up at him with drooping eyelids, but pushed himself up with another long, slow yawn. "Do I have to?" he mumbled.

"Yes. It's time you took another dose of your medication," Moon stated simply. "Vanessa brought you crackers to go with it."

Gregory sat up and eyed the bag on the bedside table. "I'm sort of feeling better," he offered. "It worked before. Maybe I don't need it anymore."

Moon made a tsk-tsk noise. "You are still sick. Unless you want your fever to get worse, you need to take it."

"How about later?" Gregory compromised. "I'm feeling better. So, it's still working."

They were about to go in circles again, weren't they?

"Vanessa and Freddy came looking for you," Moon stated. "I will contact them after you've taken your medication and tell them you are awake."

Gregory perked up and then groaned. "Ugh. Can't I talk to them now? I'll take my medicine after, I promise."

Moon shook his head. "I already discussed this with Vanessa. She will wait until you have taken your medicine before coming back with Freddy."

Gregory pouted and gave the medicine in question the side-eye. "What if I throw it back up again?"

"You're not going to make yourself throw up," Moon warned.

"No! Of course not! Just wondering if I would need to take it again."

Moon answered, "It depends on how long ago you took it. Do you want me to call them?"

"Yeah. Fine." Gregory pulled out the medicine provided. With another side eye to Moon, he picked up his water and gave it a test sip. He perked up a little and took the pills with it. Relief lightened Moon's mood. The boy had not been fond of drinking too much water at a time. Chica finally suggested they flavor the water somehow. Gregory liked drinking the orange FizzyFaz, so Vanessa and Chica picked up orange water flavoring while at the store. Gregory drank every bit provided to him–especially when it didn't make him feel overwhelmingly nauseous.

Sun sent an encoded message to Freddy.

Hardly a minute or so passed before the door opened and in came Freddy, followed by Vanessa who turned the lights on completely once they successfully grabbed Gregory's attention.

With the lights only half on, neither Moon nor Sun would need to transform into the other. But once that went to completely being off or completely being on, that changed. Moon backed up and immediately gave Sun his turn. The whites and navy blues of his clothes and "skin" changed to gold and red. His hat flipped down, replaced by big golden spokes. The lights went out in his eyes.

Freddy said, "Gregory, good news! The doctor said that your symptoms should ease completely in three days. You will be allowed to return to school after four days!" Neither of them were too close to Gregory, but neither of them looked to be outwardly avoiding him, either.

Gregory smiled, though the ends looked a little weird. "Yay! Yeah, school, uh, yay. Um, does that mean I won't have to stay in bed anymore?"

Vanessa, sitting back on her ankles so she was not standing over him, chipped in, "For right now, you still need your rest. You should take a shower, soon. But, in a few days, once you get to feeling better, we'll think about it."

A real smile replaced the weird one Gregory had worn. "Awesome! I can't wait to not be sick anymore. I've been here forever. Hey, Freddy? What's it been like? Have you gotten to be outside more?"

"I accompanied Vanessa to the doctor's office, but for the most part, I have stayed here. Chica is the only one allowed to go on her own right now and Vanessa has been very busy."